August 11, 2022

Baton Rouge car wash, oil change, convenience store operator cited after
federal workplace safety investigation into stabbing of assistant manager

OSHA learns of past instances of violence at Baton Rouge-area locations

BATON ROUGE, LA – Federal safety inspectors have cited the operator of several Baton Rouge-area car wash, oil change, fueling and convenience store locations after a workplace violence investigation into the stabbing of an assistant manager on Feb. 6, 2022. The employee was treated and later released from the hospital.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the B-Quik location on Greenwell Springs Road – owned and operated by Benny’s Car Wash & Oil Change – for failing to protect its workers from violence and for waiting15 days to report the worker’s hospitalization. Federal workplace safety law requires employee hospitalizations to be reported within 24 hours.

Investigators determined that the assistant manager was behind the counter with two other employees when a customer entered the store carrying a knife and stabbed the assistant manager multiple times. No customers were inside the store at the time. During its investigation, OSHA learned of several previous instances of violence at the store in the past year.

The company faces $17,403 in proposed penalties.

“Workplace violence remains a leading cause of occupational fatalities in the U.S.,” said OSHA Area Director Roderic Chube in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "Employers are legally obligated to reduce hazards related to workplace violence and train workers on how to recognize those hazards."

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries reports that – out of the 25,684 fatal workplace injuries in the U.S. from 2016 to 2020 – intentional injury by another person caused 3,694 of them. Learn more about OSHA's guidance on preventing workplace violence.

Established in 1951, Benny’s is a family-owned operator of nine car wash, oil change, fueling and convenience store locations in the Baton Rouge area.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Learn more about OSHA.

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Media Contacts:

Chauntra Rideaux, 972-850-4710, rideaux.chauntra.d@dol.gov
Juan J. Rodríguez, 972-850-4709, rodriguez.juan@dol.gov

Release Number: 22-1651-DAL

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